As you may be aware, Origins is now part of the Findmypast family. You can now browse all Origins records alongside many millions more at Findmypast. Head to findmypast.co.uk and use the promotional code ORIGINS1 to browse millions of records for a special price of just £1.

You can also continue to explore all our records here at Origins until early 2015.

Oath rolls are an underused (though often difficult to use in their original formats) source of individuals' names in the 16th to early 18th centuries. They could contain the names of a substantial proportion of the adult male population within the areas which they covered, and so offer a valuable pre-19th century "census substitute".

Oaths of allegiance were used to secure the loyalty to the sovereign and to help identify potential opponents. They were relatively common in in post-Reformation and revolutionary England. For example, the Jacobean loyalty oath of 1606 was intended to expose disloyal Catholics; during the Civil War years signatories to the Protestation Oath (1641) promised to defend 'the true reformed religion expressed in the doctrine of the Church of England' and confirmed their 'duty of allegiance' to 'maintain and defend His Majesty's royal person and estate, as also the power and privilege of Parliaments'.

In response to one of many actual or suspected Jacobite plots, in 1696 all substantial people and office-holders were 'invited' to subscribe to an Association Oath of loyalty to William III. They swore vengeance if any harm came to him. The Quakers refused to countenance any threat of violence or indeed to swear an oath at all, but most Protestants were only too eager to subscribe. No doubt many felt obliged to sign, regardless of their feelings.

This collection contains the names of over 21,500 members of 77 livery companies, and is searchable by Last name, First name and Livery Company.

It is likely that for most London Livery Companies the great majority of members would have signed the Oath Roll. Exceptions are: the Watermen's Company, whose list of 1,445 signatories notes that at least 4,000 members were already in the King's Service and so could not sign the roll; and the Musicians, whose roll contains 34 names while the rest of the members are in the King's Service and could not be found.
More on London Livery Companies

Association Oath Rolls for Surrey, 1695

The Surrey part of this collection is searchable by Last name, First name and Parish.